The One
by Lexaa
Summary: After the war, Annabeth starts to realize her true feelings for Percy. But does he feel the same way? Warning: uber fluffy. TLO spoilers! And obviously, major Percabeth. :D Annabeth's POV.


**A/N: PJO is my favorite book series in the whole wide world, and I absolutely **_**love**_** reading fanfictions for it (: And the other day I decided to write one of my own. So here's a little Percabeth oneshot that I just came up with (: yay! Takes place right after the big Titan war and everything.**

**And I realize that the formatting's really weird, and I apologize for that. I typed all of this on my phone :P I know, weird right? I guess I was just too lazy to turn on my computer. Plus, I can type on my phone really quickly. Full keyboards for the WINNN, yo. xD**

**By the way, I don't own PJO! ( though I do live in the same state as the author...a big shoutout to all my fellow Texans out there (: )**

**UPDATE****: I changed the formatting so it didn't look as bad. Yay! (:**

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Things had quieted down since the end of the war. Camp Half-Blood was finally back to normal, or about as normal as a camp for demigods could get. So it would be expected that everyone would be happy & things would just be fine & dandy, right?

Wrong.

Sure, everyone else was doing great as far as I knew, but there was something that had been bothering me for the past few days. Maybe even the past few years, if you looked at it a certain way. The thing was, i was in love with Percy Jackson.

Crazy, right? I didn't even want to think about what my mother would say. but I was done with hiding my feelings. Ever since the gods offered Percy immortality & he turned them down, I'd been starting to think about things. I thought about several instances where I'd worried about him & being scared to death of losing him. I thought about those two weeks last summer when he had disappeared after making that darn volcano explode. I'd been so distraught & messed up the whole time because i'd really thought he was dead. It was like a huge, gaping chunk of my heart had been ripped out. And when he returned, it was like that huge gaping chunk had been replaced. That's when I started to realize that I needed him, maybe even more than what was healthy for me. And maybe, just maybe, I was okay with that.

But although I had come to terms with what I felt, I still had no idea how HE felt. I'd hoped that maybe Rachel turning into the new Oracle would help him make a decision -- if he was even struggling with one in the first place. Maybe I was the one with the problem. Maybe I was conceited for thinking that I captivated him even an ounce as much as he captivated me. Maybe I'd been kidding myself this whole time. But of course, there was only one way to know for sure.

* * *

On a sunny day about a week after Percy's 16th birthday, I hastily checked my reflection in the small mirror that was in the Athena cabin. Normally I wasn't so self-conscious, but today was a different story. Today, I was finally going to tell Percy how I felt.

I took one final look in the mirror, unconsciously fingering the silver owl earrings my mother, Athena, had given to me. Even thought I'd never been a big fan of jewelry, I wore these all the time. But as I stared at my reflection, I wondered exactly WHY I liked them so much. Was it because my mother, one of the esteemed Olympian goddesses, had given them to me? Or was it because, during one of our quests, Percy had randomly complimented them? I honestly didn't know anymore.

Steeling myself, I walked out of my cabin, straightening my Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. I spotted Percy in the distance, took a deep breath, and walked toward him. I was about to greet him when I noticed he was talking to someone. And by someone, I mean a girl. And by a girl, I mean Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

I watched from a distance as Rachel said something. Percy laughed his beautiful, carefree laugh, which I'd always secretly considered to be one of my favorite sounds. It made my heart ache, knowing that he was sharing it with another girl. I sighed. What was I thinking? Of course Rachel being an Oracle wouldn't stop her & Percy from being together. Even though it wasn't really right, Percy would find a way to make it work. He always did. It was one of his best & worst qualities. I suddenly felt like crying. With Rachel around, Percy would never even look at me. She offered him something I couldn't: a normal, happy, carefree life. And if there was one thing I'd learned from being a half-blood, it was that we all wished for a normal life.

I started making my way to the arena. I had to have some way to get my emotions out. Rachel was leaving at the same time, & Percy noticed me as I trudged past him.

"Hey," he greeted me with a smile. "Where are you--" He stopped as he noticed my tear-streaked face. "Annabeth...are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I mumbled, not even stopping to look at him.

"You're obviously not fine," said Percy, running slightly to catch up with me. He caught my arm. "Seriously, Annabeth, what's wrong?"

I yanked my arm back. "I told you. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." I started walking away again, this time at a faster pace.

"Annabeth." Percy's voice was stern. He caught my arm again, and this time I was too weak to pull it back. "Tell me what happened." His face was so honest, so caring that it brought on a fresh round of tears. I looked away, suddenly intent on studying a patch of grass beside my foot.

"Annabeth," Percy said again, gently this time. "Look at me." When I wouldn't comply, he gently turned my head so that it was facing his. His touch was so warm, so reassuring. He lifted his other hand and tenderly brushed a tear off my cheek. I kept my eyes downcast, still not able to meet his eye. "Please, Annabeth," Percy pleaded, "Please just tell me the problem. I'm sure, whatever it is, we can fix it."

This angered me slightly. "No," I said firmly. "You can't fix it."

Percy chuckled slightly, which made me even madder. "But you're not even telling me the problem," he said. "How can you be so sure I can't fix it?"

Finally, all my pent-up anger exploded. "YOU'RE the problem, Percy Jackson! YOU are!" I exclaimed, ignoring his shocked face. I broke away from him and started running. I just needed to get away from him.

"Wait up," Percy called. He was suddenly right beside me, which was kind of surprising. His running skills must have improved, the ADHD part of me thought. He overtook me & positioned himself right in front of me. "How am I the problem?" he asked me. "I mean, I didn't do anything--"

"Exactly! You've done NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING!" The tears flowed freely down my face now. I was aware of some curious campers staring at us, but I was too upset to care. I attempted to skirt around Percy and head for gods-knew-where, but Percy held me by my shoulders, forcing me to stay rooted in place.

"Annabeth," he said calmly. "Please, just tell me what I'm doing wrong! I swear to you, I'll try to fix it. But I can't if I don't know what to fix."

I finally looked into his eyes, those mesmerizing green eyes I had come to know so well. "You can't fix it. You can't," I said quietly. I removed his hands from my shoulders & started to back away. "Just leave me alone. Please."

A flicker of hurt passed across his face, & it made me feel awful that I was the one who had caused that. "But Annabeth..." he started.

"Just leave me alone!" I repeated, louder this time. I ran off towards my cabin & slammed the door, not bothering to look back.

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The rest of the day was pretty quiet. I sat in my bunk, keeping to myself, while my siblings left me alone. They probably sensed that I was upset, & so they didn't want to bother me. However, I wanted them to bother me. I needed something, anything to keep my mind off HIM. Not even Daedalus's laptop was distracting enough.

Night fell, and I lay on my bunk, staring at the ceiling. It was completely silent, except for the steady breathing & occasional snoring from my cabinmates. But the calmness of it all was deafening. I couldn't stop thinking about the events of the past day. Before I even fully realized what I was doing, I'd put on some sweatpants & flip-flops, & snuggled up in a warm hoodie, which I soon realized was Percy's hoodie.

I tiptoed out of my cabin & quietly shut the door behind me. I made my way across the grass towards Percy's cabin, looking around to make sure the harpies hadn't spotted me. When I got to Percy's cabin door, I hesitated. What was I supposed to do, knock? I grabbed the doorknob instead & turned, only to realize it was locked. I snorted quietly in annoyance. Great job, Annabeth. You really planned this out well.

"Do you have a particular reason for trying to get into my cabin at 2 in the morning?" said a familiar voice behind me. The voice startled me so badly I nearly fell over. I spun around & there was Percy, slightly amused.

I clutched my chest & attempted to steady my breathing. "Gods, Percy, you scared me!" I scolded. "W-what are you doing out here?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I could ask you the same thing. But really, I was just taking a walk along the beach." He looked towards the water, which sparkled in the moonlight. "It helps me think, you know?" He turned back to me. "But really, what ARE you doing here?"

I shuffled uncomfortably. "I, uh, I just needed to talk to you."

Percy considered that. "Hmmmm." he looked around, then took a key out of his pocket & unlocked his door. He swung it open, then said, "Get in."

I went into his cabin, & Percy followed me, closing the door behind him. I looked around, realizing I'd never really payed attention to his cabin before. It smelled like an ocean breeze, which was probably due, in part, to the fact that there was a huge, dimly lit saltwater fountain in the corner. The walls of the cabin had a faint glow, like a polished shell, & if you looked closely, there were actually tiny shells embedded in the walls. Some remnants from the previous summers remained, like a few of Tyson's many contraptions & the horn from the Minotaur, which Percy had first defeated right before he first arrived at camp.

Percy sat down on one of the bunks (which I could tell was his, considering the fact it was much messier than the rest of the cabin). He pet a spot on the bed beside him, & I took a seat. I could feel his eyes on me. After a long silence, Percy finally spoke. "So," he said. "You needed to talk to me?"

I sighed. "Yes," I said. I snuck a quick peek at him. He didn't look bitter or angry, just...patient. I looked away again & continued speaking. "I realize that I wasn't exactly fair to you earlier today, er, yesterday. I should've told you what I was feeling. I should've given you a chance." I looked at Percy again. "I'm so sorry. You must be pretty mad at me right about now."

"Well, the thing is, Wise Girl, I'm not. I'm not mad."

I looked at him hopefully. "Really?"

"Really. It's just that I want to know what I'm doing wrong. Whatever it is, I'll make it better. I mean, I don't want us to fight like this. It doesn't exactly make me feel good."

"Do you really want to know?" I asked tentatively, half-hoping he'd say no.

"Well, yes."

"Are you sure? I mean, it's a pretty long story..."

Percy laughed, which made me smile a little in spite of myself. "Yes, Wise Girl, I'm sure. Tell me."

I took a breath. "Just try not to interrupt, okay?" Percy smiled, & I smiled back. "Well, let's see. The first time I met you, I completely hated you. But by the end of that summer, I considered you as a good friend of mine. I didn't know back then that it would be all that & more. And then that second summer, when we snuck out of camp to go get the Golden Fleece. I remember that time, with the Sirens...I could've died right there. But you went after me, Percy. You saved me. And when I realized everything was okay, & it was over, I just started crying. And then you held me as I cried, and I remember thinking that it felt so good, just to be held." I paused & snuck another glance at Percy, vaguely surprised he hadn't interrupted me yet. He seemed to be contemplating what I was saying.

"And then, also during that summer, when you got turned into a guinea pig." I snorted a little, remembering. "Deep down, I was terrified. I didn't know what would happen if I couldn't somehow change you back. And after you became yourself again, I was so relieved. I made a promise to myself to try as hard as I could to not let anything like that happen to you again.

"But then I got kidnapped right after that." I felt Percy stiffen beside me. "Even as I was being forced to hold up the world, I kept thinking about you. It was like, I could sense you there. And I knew that, somehow, you would find me."

"And then the summer after that. The labyrinth. And then Mt. St. Helens." I blushed a little, remembering what had happened there. I noticed that he turned slightly pink too. "You disappeared after that for two weeks, & I was out-of-my-mind worried about you. I didn't want to believe you were dead, even though the rational part of me was starting to think you were. It was awful for me. Especially when we were going to burn your shroud. I could barely bring myself to speak. I felt... broken. But then you showed up," I said, grinning. "Just in time to crash your own funeral. And maybe I didn't seem like it, but I was SO happy to see you again. Everything that had been weighing me down those two weeks just disappeared."

"And then just a few weeks ago. The war began. At first, I was a little pissed, and you could probably tell. But really Percy, I didn't hate you. I was just hurt. But after I found out you took a dip in the Styx...I didn't know what to feel. I hated the idea that you put yourself at risk. But then I realized you did it not for yourself, but for the benefit of all of us. You did it to protect us. And I saw the way you led us into battle. How you laid out plans for us. How you attacked a bunch of monsters without a thought to your own safety. When you decided to give that knife to Luke. And then when you turned down the gods' offer of immortality & asked them to claim all their children & have all demigods welcomed into Camp Half-Blood instead. And I thought, I'd never met anyone like you. And I probably never will. I've never met anyone more selfless, more brave, more caring. It was like that day, I really saw you. I've known you for a long time, but this changed things. And thinking about that, & all the times you were there for me, & all the things we've been through, I realized..."

I swallowed. I looked at Percy, and the look in his eyes was so tender, so full of kindness, that it gave me courage to say what I was about to say.

"I realized, Percy, that I'm in love with you."

* * *

For the longest time, we just stared at each other. Percy looked up at the ceiling. "You know," he said, "when you got kidnapped, it really bothered me. I felt like something was missing. And it was pretty bad when we found out later that Artemis had been taken, too. But even though I should've been completely freaked out over that, really, all I could think about was you. I think that was what my real motivation was when I went with the group to find Artemis. I would have these dreams, & I'd see you just basically being tortured, & it hurt me a lot to see you like that." He paused. "I never told you this, but Aphrodite payed me a visit when you were missing."

I gaped at him. "She did?"

He nodded. "She talked to me about you. She said 'follow your heart! Love conquers all!' or something along those lines. And talking to her was what made me think that the reason why I wanted to find Artemis so bad was because I knew you would be there too. And I also remember finding this pamphlet for the Hunters of Artemis in your backpack. It scared me to think that I could lose you to them. I'd never be able to speak to you again."

"Was that what you were trying to say to me when they were about to make Thalia a Hunter? You thought I was the one being made into a Hunter, didn't you?" I asked. Percy nodded. I turned toward him. "I won't lie. I did think about it. I thought about Luke, & how he betrayed all of us, but most of all about how he betrayed ME. But then I thought about you. You'd always been there for me. You'd gone out of your way to save me. I thought to myself that I didn't want to be a Hunter if it meant giving up my friendship with you."

Percy looked straight at me. I was suddenly aware of our close proximity. "These past few weeks made ME realize a lot of things too, you know."

A bubble of hope began to grow inside of me. "Oh?"

"Yes. When you took that knife for me...I was beyond grateful, of course. But I saw how close you were to dying, and it made me feel the same way I had that summer you were kidnapped. I couldn't lose you. I couldn't." He paused. "And when I bathed in the Styx, & when the gods offered me immortality, you were right about the fact that I was thinking about other people instead of myself. But mostly, I was thinking about you. YOU'RE the reason i even made it out of the Styx alive, anyway. Nico said I had to focus on one thing that made me want to stay mortal. I thought of you, & I thought of you again when they offered me immortality."

There was a long moment of silence. I looked at Percy, & Percy looked at me. I stared into his brilliant sea-green eyes, which sparkled in the moonlight streaming through the window. Finally, I said, "What exactly are you trying to say, Seaweed Brain?" I felt a slow smile spread across my face.

Percy smiled too. "What I'm saying, Wise Girl, is that I love you too."

We were so close now that our noses nearly bumped into each other. We leaned forward slowly, slowly, until our lips connected. And in that instant, I saw things. I saw Percy & I strolling along the beach, hand in hand. Me walking down the aisle in a white dress, and Percy grinning ear-to-ear as he waits at the altar. A beautiful girl, with my blonde curls & his gorgeous sea-green eyes.

We pulled apart, both gasping for breath. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he'd seen something similar. We leaned in again, and again, and again....

And the next morning, when I woke up in his arms, I knew I'd found the one.

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**So there you have it! Hope you liked it (: Make sure to **_**REVIEW!**_

**Also, this is really random, but if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or if you just want to get to know me, check out my formspring or twitter (links on profile). (: I don't know why, I just really feel like talking to someone new. Haha.**

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